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Episode 191: Pearl Chang: Wolf Devil Director
Show Notes : Pearl Chang wrote/directed/produced and starred in four Taiwanese fantasy films in the 80s, but cinema history has cruelly ignored her wildly imaginative body of work - even though she's one of the few women to ever be a truly be a 'Total Filmmaker'. In this week's episode, we examine her life, work, and discuss her most famous film WOLF DEVIL WOMAN, MIRACULOUS FLOWER and MATCHING ESCORT. Films Discussed * Films involving Pearl Chang ** The Protectors (1974-75) - TV Show ** Armed Escort (1976) Dir. Chen Ming-Hua ** My Blade My Life (1978) Dir. Chen Ming-Hua ** Miraculous Flower (a.k.a Wolf Devil Woman 3 a.k.a Phoenix the Ninja) (1981) Dir. Hao Fang ** Wolf Devil Woman (a.k.a Wolfen Queen a.k.a. Wolfen Ninja) (1982) Dir. Pearl Chang ** Matching Escort (1982) Dir. Pearl Chang ** Fantasy Mission Force (1983) Dir. Chu Yen-ping ** Dark Lady of Kung Fu (1983) Dir. Pearl Chang * Touch of Zen (1971) Dir. King Hu * The Bride with White Hair (1993) Dir. Ronny Yu Discussion Notes * Another month of the International Cinema Club! * Taiwan - the 'illegitimate step-brother' of the Hong Kong film industry ** Players in the Taiwanese New Wave of '82 - Edward Yang, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Tsai Ming-liang * Pearl Chang, also credited as Pearl Chung, Pearl Chong, Pearl Chung-ling, and Pearl Chang-ling ** Perhaps the only Chinese-language writer, actor, director, and producer of her own films - a legacy admired by our hosts ** The 'Pearl' name only appears in International Finance Development Company works *** Run by Godfrey Ho and Joseph Li ** Disappeared after a role in a 1985 TV series - not heard of in the West since, *** Supposedly moved to Canada? Will urges for a search! ** Durian Dave - Pearl Change expert ** The films of Pearl change - a balance of the beautiful and the ridiculous *** Common themes: revenge, fast wacky swordplay, 'flowering' of the main character, ridiculous costumes, great hand-made sets, and a dream-like quality * Fantasy Mission Force - a movie made on Triad-owed favors Listener Letters * Otto - * Thoughts on Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Winter Sleep ''(2014) ** Will - doesn't remember it that well, but he liked ''Once Upon A Time in Anatolia (2011) ** Justin - liked The Wild Pear Tree (2018), loves six hour documentary feature that came with it Post-Outro Discussion * U.S. Department of Justice revoking 1949 Paramount Decree ** The initial ruling ended the Golden Age of (Factory Line) Hollywood ** Prohibited movie studios from owning theaters, which limited block-booking that made it tough for independent films to exist * Revoking the rule in the U.S. opens the doors to Disney-owned theaters ** Adds to the list of rules that are choking out independent theater business *** Rules also exist to stop second-run theaters from getting movies if it is still in a first run theater within a certain distance *** Movie rental stores cannot rent Disney movies until 1-2 months after a disc release *** Rising costs of getting film reels for repertory theaters * South Korea limits film release monopolies - https://variety.com/2019/film/asia/korea-law-limit-film-releasing-monopolies-1203369437/ ** A South Korean film beat out Marvel's 2019 titan at box office thanks to these kinds of limits *** Extreme Job (2019) Dir. Lee Byeong-heon *** Avengers: Endgame (2019) Dir. Joe & Anthony Russo * Seeing films with a community is important! * Our hosts lament films you won't get to see in theaters any more ** Pinocchio (1940) Dir. Ben Sharpsteen & Hamilton Luske ** Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) Dir. Geroge Lucas ** Die Hard (1988) Dir. John McTiernan ** Home Alone (1990) Dir. John Hughes ** Deep Rising (1998) Dir. Stephen Sommers Category:Episodes Category:International Cinema Club Category:Pearl Chang